A Spell In Time is a unique pioneering British-Bulgarian performing arts company formed by Moni Sheehan and Ivor Davies. It is the only group presenting Bulgarian myth and folklore in English to British audiences.

The company’s trademark is a primal blend of storytelling, ritual and music combined with Bulgarian singing. We aim to create a distillation of traditional Bulgarian culture that is exciting, enjoyable and entertaining, while offering an alternative insight into shared human experience. 

A Spell In Time has produced five main shows in the Tales of Hidden Bulgaria series, touring nationally in a range of venues from the Bulgarian Embassy to the Beyond the Border International Festival in Wales.

Breathing The Dawn
The Dragon Lover
The Dark-Eyed Warrior
The Red Blood Rose
Beyond Nine Forests
 

With fierce exploits, atmospheric music and a world-class Bulgarian singer, these programmes bring the power and magic of Bulgarian traditional tales to British audiences for the first time.

Performances are based on heroic epics, folk ballads, ritual songs, legends and traditional tales translated by mother and daughter team, Paraskeva Armstrong and Moni Sheehan. Our sources are texts collected and transcribed by Bulgarian folklorists from songs and narratives handed down orally from generation to generation in Bulgarian villages. This extraordinary material has ancient origins going back to Proto-Bulgarian, Slavic and Thracian times and is largely unknown outside Bulgaria. A Spell In Time’s work in translating and performing it is unique.

The company has also worked on a range of other projects. We welcome new initiatives and collaborations, and enjoy exploring new ways of presenting traditional culture as relevant to our modern cosmopolitan society. Our other work has included:

• Collaboration with groups such as The Bistritsa Grandmothers’ Choir from Bulgaria, Balkan/Arabic band, Mukka and the London Bulgarian Choir.

• The Red Blood Rose Extra, a special grand performance by A Spell In Time with special guest Todor Todorov, gaida and kaval-player extraordinaire, and forty workshop participants for the 2004 Winter's Edge Festival.

• Bulgarian Wedding Ritual Workshop, a two-day spectacular participatory theatre event for 100 people at Spirit Horse Nomadic Circle in Wales

• The Untamed Heart, an educational programme for students learning English

In conjunction with performance, we offer workshops in related skills, including Bulgarian Singing, Bulgarian Folk Dance, Bulgarian Ritual and Folklore, and Storytelling.

A Spell In Time is based in London and Hampshire and tours the country performing in a wide range of venues from conventional theatres, arts centres and storytelling clubs to festivals and Celtic roundhouses, including:

Beyond the Border Welsh International Storytelling Festival; The Bulgarian Embassy (London); Festival at the Edge (Shropshire); Union Chapel (London); Diaspora Music Village Festival (London); Storytelling Cafés (Midlands); Lichfield Garrick Studio Theatre; Merlin Theatre (Sheffield); MythStories (Shropshire); Glasshouse Studio Theatre (Stourbridge); St Mary-in-the-Castle Arts Centre (Hastings); the Foreign Office (London); Giving Voice Festival (Wales); Holywell Music Room (Oxford);  Storytelling-in-Hope (London); Camden Ceilidh (London); Spirit Horse Nomadic Circle (Wales); Bristol Folk House.

Radio features include: the BBC World Service, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Sheffield, Radio Resonance fm.

Radio and newspaper features in Bulgaria include: Bulgarian National Radio Horizont, Radio Stara Zagora, Sofia Echo.

Breathing The Dawn: Tales of Hidden Bulgaria is supported by the Arts Council England Lottery Programme